Saturday, May 31, 2008

Cori: Hey Rick! I wanted to see if you were planning to join us for the hike, and if so, would you want to lead one of them? There is an 11 mile hike that more ambitious people can do. Let me know:)

Me: You know Cori, hiking for me is like eating baby back ribs with a knife and fork, eventually I just want to ditch the utensils and dig in. After a couple of miles of hiking, all I want to do is run. However, the timing of the hike is excellent. I have a big race the following weekend.

A group of us including the kids went on a 1.7 mile hike to a beach, had lunch and while parents and kids hiked back some us went on a longer hike. There was no sun where we were and it was a bit cold but the company was great and the views amazing. We only traveled about 7 miles or so but I was still pooped in the end, probably because I don't eat or drink enough on hikes. I was also able to keep myself from running, well for the most part.

2 hour run tomorrow. Deep down I am getting very excited for Kettle Moraine and Wisconsin in general. I'm keeping a tight lid on it, otherwise I won't stop thinking about it. Friday I finished my last day of heat training, woohoo. It was my 11th consecutive day of hitting the sauna. In the last three weeks I've spent a total of 13 days in the sauna and a couple more days of running around in layers. I've never done sauna training for heat acclimation, fellow San Francisco ultra-marathoner Jonathan "Gundy" Gunderson filled me in on the details. This is the method that he uses for his Badwater heat training. Basically 3 weeks out of a hot race you hit the sauna every day for two weeks. He recommended working up to 45-1 hour. Since I'm not doing Badwater I was fine at keeping it at 30-45 minutes. My good friend Jessica who grew up in Wisconsin advised me that it's not always hot and humid in the first part of June but I decided to prepare for the worst. I visit my parents regularly in Florida and my relatives in the Philippines. I know how humidity affects me, not pretty. Heat doesn't scare me, humidity on the other hand...

Wednesday, May 28, 2008

So I'm a week and a half into this taper and for the most part I'm loving it. More time to do other things and more rest. I'm never bored when I'm on taper. However, the one thing I do hate is the feeling of sluggishness and tiredness that I feel in a taper which supposedly is normal. Paraphrasing from a taper article from Runner's World:

Heavy legs, a tired, heavy feeling centered in the legs, but affecting your whole body, that you get late in a taper. This is caused by tissue repair in the legs during recovery, coupled with the fact that you are storing more carbohydrate and water late in the taper, will make you feel like you do after eating a big meal," says Dr. Smurawa. In other words, you feel like a slug.

Which makes last night's workout at the track suprising. We were revisiting our 2-mile (3200 meters) benchmark workout that we did at the beginning of track back in February. Back then I ran a 13:38 (Mile 1 = 6:55, Mile 2 = 6:43) which is pretty much where my times usually fall for the distance. I got the math wrong earlier, sorry for the confusion. One lap is 400m, 4 laps is about a mile.

Came to track sleepy and sluggish. I dreaded the workout all day but it was perfect for taper, high intensity but short in duration. Felt a little bit better during the warmup but not a whole lot better. Heehawed and grumbled at the start line and sighed at the go signal. It hurt right away, my form was squirly but not as ragged as my breath - it felt loud in my ears. I felt like I was running on no sleep. Now, I've never recorded anything faster than a 6:30ish for the mile but I blew by the 1600-meter mark at 6:10 - Coach Duane called it out from the sidelines. The warning signals that told me I was going too fast was lost in the general feeling of weakness and fatigue. You should have seen my eyes when he called that out. I paid for it in the next 1600m with a 6:25 but I came through the time trial with a 12:35. Back in February I was whining about always wanting but not being able to break 13 minutes. Well there you have it, as ugly as it was. It also helps that I'm 5 pounds lighter, I'm sure that was a big part of it. I'm always heavier from October thru February.

On the way home I lost my bus ticket and got caught in a surprise inspection by transportation agents downtown. They patrol occasionally, there to catch freeloaders who get in on the back of the buses. Since I didn't have proof of fare payment I got hit with a $50 ticket. It's a lot of money and it bites since I actually paid the fare but so it goes. I tried to be real sore about it but to no avail. I'm still grinning about track today. Progress is such a sweet thing. 6:10 huh, what do I have to do to get that down to sub-6? Can I finally break 22 mins on the 5k?

Sunday, May 25, 2008

I'm in full taper mode for the Kettle Morraine 100, love, love the taper. I spent the whole weekend in San Francisco this past weekend and it was a nice break from all the racing in different venues and training in Marin. I don't remember the last time this has happened. My workout this weekend consisted of one single 3 hour run on Sunday and time on the sauna for heat training (I'll speak more about the heat training on a separate post). Today I was supposed to join a group for a Sunday swim in the bay but I slept in instead. Seems like I made the right decision since supposedly there was a shark at Aquatic Park today. I don't believe it but I'll know more this week. In fact the biggest workout I did today was a marathon session on the phone with my mom, serves me right for not calling for weeks. My mom can talk like I run. She confessed to me that not only does she read my blog religiously but she reads all the comments and reads the blogs of the folks that have commented on my site. "That Marcy, she's so funny" she remarked during our conversation, then she added "I love Bullrunner's blog and all those Filipino blogs you have listed on your sidebar. Running wasn't big in the Philippines when I was growing up". She had me on the phone for 2:12. Marathons have been run within that time. My mom can talk like I run, did I say that already? If all goes according to plan, I finish KM100 the day of her birthday. If I finish I may give her my finisher award but I don't know what she would do with it.

Anyway I want to wish you all a happy Memorial Day. Today at church, a long time member and a friend broke down confessing a guilt he has carried for 3 years. He's one of those special operative types who get dropped behind enemy lines and he has anguished over a situation that I believe was out of his control. I for one am glad he is still with us and I am thankful for him and all our troops. To my step dad who spent 22 years in the Navy, much respect and love always. A Hash House Harrier in his younger years, the doctors have advised him many times to stop drinking and smoking and he has stopped and started just as much. Dad you are one stubborn guy but I want you to know that every Memorial Day I think of you first and I don't think that will ever change.

Lastly, much support and cheering to my good friend Rangsiwan who is on the run portion of Ironman Brazil right now, YOU GO LADY!!!. You got this! At the finish line is her fiance B and her parents. It's too early to say congratulations so instead I'll have another glass of red wine while she guts it out there. Woof, the marathon segment of an Ironman, painful.

Thursday, May 22, 2008

It's 3:40PM and I had just made a fresh cup of PEET's decaf. I drink the leaded stuff in the morning and go unleaded in the afternoons. As I got back to my desk I got a knock at the door and it was the mail man. He said he would have left the package on top of our apartment mailboxes like he usually does for mail that wont fit in our boxes but he just got the urge to deliver it to my door personally. I've no idea why because I don't know our mail man. Lo and behold it's girl scout cookies from J~Mom, all the way from Arizona - Thin Mints. So nice, thank you and the timing couldn't have been more perfect.

J~Mom just completed her first Olympic distance triathlon this past weekend. Look at this picture, nothing but joy there (scroll past the post race celebratory pedicure shot). She planned, executed, got it done and mailed me girl scout cookies to boot. Now I will try to exhibit some self-discipline myself and not eat the whole box in one sitting.

Monday, May 19, 2008

Yesterday I was a volunteer for the Ohlone 50k. It was inland, about an hours drive from San Francisco. Away from the fog and into the heat. We had a heat wave during the past week, even here in SF we reached the mid-90s. So warm that on Friday evening I was along the water at a bar with outdoor seating, drinking a glass of wine with a good friend dressed only in a shirt and shorts - maybe it's time to move to Southern California. By Saturday the temperatures have begun to drop but it was still warm during the race on Sunday. The station I worked at was at the 12.5 mile mark and the first runner came through around 9:30 (early starters) and we stayed open until the cut off which was 12 noon. As usual the leaders looked good and strong and so did a bunch of participants. However, there was also a good number of folks who did not look so good and my heart went out to them. Here they were at the 12.5 mile mark of a 31 mile race with the hottest part and toughest climb still ahead of them. Watching their backs as they marched up the dusty trail I could only wish them the best, at the same time I feel a lot of pride and admiration "you go runner, one foot in front of the other until you wisely can't continue anymore or until you cross that finish line". Mark Gilligan, one of three sweepers, came through just after 12 which officially closed our station for the day. When he first appeared on the hill we didn't know he was a sweeper and was debating on who would give him the bad news that he was out of the race, having missed the 12 noon cutoff. It was a sigh of relief to know he was a sweeper. Thankfully we did not have to cut any runners at our station.

Our aid station at Backpacker, 12.5 miles in and hanging with 4th place finisher Kevin Swisher at the finish. All volunteers were provided with the tie dye shirts. Both photographs shamelessly lifted off of Mark Tanaka's blog. Aid Station shot by Chihping Fu and finish shot by Mark Tanaka.

I'm big on the race volunteering thing, it's a lot of fun. Those of you who have followed my blog for awhile know how much I enjoy that part of the race experience as much as racing itself. I've built up my experience over the years, always moving around trying different jobs in different races. I've manned barricades on a triathlon course to riding as a bike marshall on a multiple scelerosis fundraising ride to directing volunteers as an aid station captain in the Nike women's marathon. I've set up aid station drops for a marathon, paced runners in an ultra, handed out Gatorade and shuttled hot pasta sauce and pasta to the finish line food tent of a triathlon race (never, ever again!). Sunday I was back as an aid station volunteer and this time I was the youngin in the group. The kid amongst the adults and wisely I kept quiet for the most part and just listened, at least I knew that much. It wasn't just the fact that the people I worked with was older than I was, it was also because they had more experience than I did in the sport/community of ultra. Our aid station captains were none other than Carl Anderson and Ann Trason(File needs expanding). I learned a lot. Ann personally taught me the wonder of Payday's, the candy bar. "Ann what's this, it tastes good, one of those new fancy Mojo bars, peanuts, sugar and stuff?", I inquired. "Nope just good old Paydays" she replied, then she added "The best part about Paydays is that they don't melt like Snicker bars". She continued on about some triple bike century where Snicker bars made a mess but my eyes glazed over after the words "triple century" (300 mile bike ride). Briefly I regained my senses and I asked if the ride was all in one day. What do you think the answer was? I was a child next to these people.

A lot of friends came through and as each one came by a part of me wanted to go chasing after them. Some of these guys were at Quicksilver the weekend before, a few like Gary Wang and Mark Tanaka was at least on their 3rd week of racing and still holding up very well. Mark however is the only one I saw who was still running around after the race; running to the car, from the car, to his kids and back to the car to prevent it from being towed. His kids have a dad who can keep up with them. After my stint at the aid station I stopped by the finish and caught up with a bunch of folks. I envied their after race race glow. Kevin Swisher's 4th place finish at 5:27 truly surprised and amazed me. I met him here on this race 2 years ago, it was his first ultra and finished 6:17 on a much cooler, easier day. He was injured last year after a fast time at AR50 but now look at him - amazing. I also got to meet new people, always in these events. One of them was Glorybelle, a speedy Boston marathoner type who was doing her first ultra. Placd and was the female rookie of the event. Lady, your feet look just fine but keep a bottle of your favorite nail polish handy if you do decide to do more of these events and I hope you will.

Finish line food was another feast with a professional cook manning the grill. There was a spread of fruit, pasta, burgers and sausages but this guy also had Carnitas and his own special homemade blend of bbq sauces. I wanted seconds but since I didn't run I wisely refrained. Actually it was the sight of Gary Wang feasting on a big plate of fruit that killed the thought of another plate of Carnitas with the special home made Hawaiian bbq sauce.

It was a very, very good day to be out on the trails again and thinking about other people and not myself. Racing is a selfish thing, you have to put yourself first. Volunteering is a stretch in the opposite direction and refreshing. As we were getting back to the car, I was giving a ride to Will Gotthardt who had a great race placing 7th and to Chihping Fu who was a fellow volunteer who did pre-race sweep, making sure all the markings were at the right places for all 31 miles, we saw race director Rob Byrne running to his car which was parked right next to us. "Another medical emergency" he yelled. Another?! This reminded me of two things the ultra-community knows very well. You can get hurt in these events and secondly that the community owes an enormous debt of gratitude to it's race directors. For the most part these events are labors of love with most of the proceeds going to some cause or another. Ultra-Marathon race directors are heroes and there is no DNF option for them once they get the ball rolling. They work hard and deal with a lot of crap year after year so runners like me can volunteer, set PR days and have a good time. The ultra running community would not be where it is without the service of it's race diretors. Thank you Rob and Larry for another great day at the Ohlone 50k trail run.

I've got some Poison Oak issues to deal with, our aid station was set right against a huge bush of it. We had no choice really, it was the shadiest most level ground for the table. Ann volunteered to be back there since she was immune but eventually when it got busy I jumped back there and kept brushing up against the stuff. I figured if I can do it racing I can do it volunteering. I've been scrubbing, let's hope the minor rashes I've been getting don't develop into major ones.

Friday, May 16, 2008

Ah yes the strategy. I treated the 50-miler like a 50k (31-miles) race and resolved to let the other 19 take care of itself. That pretty much sums it up - the last 19 on bullheadedness and sheer determination.

All week I was excited for the race. I felt great at Wildflower and I knew I had it in me to come under 8:31. The previous events had made their mark and I was prepared to pull the plug if necessary being this close to my 100-miler but I had a good feeling about this race. Race morning found me with my usual race proven plan: start slow, ramp up and hold. However somewhere along mile 3, feeling very very good, I was no longer content in shaving off 5-10 minutes of my previous time. I wanted something bigger and a little more out of reach. I asked myself on those early miles, "what would be a really great accomplishment?" Sub 8 hours came to mind and I promptly formed a plan to make it happen. I calculated that I needed to come in around 5 hours for the 50k to give myself a realistic chance of coming at or under 8 hours. A 5 hour 50k on hilly trails is fast for me but it I was resolved to make it happen.

Like the year before I noticed that I would tire before my heart rate would reach it's max, a sign that I wasn't fully recovered from the races before. Despite being a gear short I was moving remarkably well. I came through the 50k mark at 4:55 feeling very strong. Brian Wyatt, who was also running the race, yells at me to get out of the station fast and remarks that I'm looking strong. Many of the ultra runners I've met are as supportive as they are competitive, sometimes even while you are racing against them, maybe it's because we are such a small tight knit community.

Miles 31 to 50 was just one big battle as you can imagine.

I left the aid station feeling pumped which promptly ended when we hit our last major climb for the day. Miles 31 to 35 is a climb that just saps you, it's a long climb just at a time when you're feeling the race. I made it through fine but started sputtering a bit around mile 36 or so. My stomach started acting up and my walk breaks increased. I felt bloated and felt pain under the bottom of my left ribs toward the sternum. Felt like gas pain. Nothing sounded good food wise and I was a bit dehydrated. Nothing to do but to keep eating and drinking, eating and drinking. After the mile 41 aid station I left fully tanked up on fluids, salt and sugar but as I ran I wanted to hurl it all out. Vomitting definitely would have delivered instant relief but I would have lost all that precious liquid, salt and sugar. Since I didn't plan on returning to the aid station I just left I gritted my teeth and kept it all in. Eventually I felt better as things were absorbed. At mile 45 I knew I wasn't going to break 8 hours and was resigned to finish as close to the 8 hour mark as possible. I crossed the line at 8:02:53 racking my brain at what I could have done different.

Chasing 8-hours was a grand goal and I was actually surprised I came close to it. I surprised myself. After the intial disappointment of not making it I was able to embrace the accomplishment of cutting 28 minutes off my time from the previous year. The fear of blowing up on the last 19 miles definitely kept it interesting:) It was a tough, tough 19 miles to be sure but a good learning experience. However it's not a race strategy I would employ again. There's the possibility that I would have broken the 8 hour mark had I stuck to my original plan. The speed and intensity would have been lower in the first half but the output a little more even throughout the second half of the race. Nevertheless it was a good thing to experience, a nice kick in the butt and it fired me up. If I had to do it all over again I would have done it the exact same way, except I would have run a bit more faster - 3 minutes worth. God willing I will be back next year.

Sunday, May 11, 2008

What's 2 minutes and 53 seconds in the course of a 50-mile run? Takes me longer than that to make coffee in the morning. I was on pace for my time goal until miles 31 to 35. It was our last major climb of the day and I fell 10 minutes behind schedule. I made up some of the time however by mile 45 I knew I wasn't going to make it. I came through the finish line at 8:02:53. So close! Now I have to come back another year to try and break through that 8 hour barrier. On the other hand I dropped my personal best for the race and the 50-mile distance overall by 28 minutes. The time to beat was 8:31, the goal was under 8.

I am more sore now than any of the events that I've done this year. Next time I'll share with ya'll my race strategy, hatched in the first few miles. It will make some of you shake your head. Someone might say "stupid", I'd like to go with "gutsy". Haha, sometimes I make myself laugh. I laughed yesterday and I'm still laughing today.

Quicksilver 50-miler8530ft. Total Elevation Gain / Same for lossLots of fire roads and it can be warm.8:02:53* 10th Overall, 9th Male.

*A new personal best for the 50-mile distance.

My friend Helen also had a great time and finished her first 50k at 7:09. I was never really worried. She had done an Ironman a couple of years ago. I knew that when push came to shove she was going to put her head down and crank those miles.

"No I'm not gonna hold the award for you, people might think it's mine. Ok c'mon here we go." With Carrie Sisk at the finish. Picture's a little dark but so are we after another day in the sun.

Mark Tanaka and family. Much respect for the athletes who have families and still find the time to practice and race, man thats dedication. Mark's the defending champ at Kettle Morraine and was 4th in yesterday's race.

Saturday, May 10, 2008

I just got back from Quicksilver and I was going to post something quick until I read this. My browser automatically opens up a news page. It's an amazing story, way, way better than what I had to tell you. Just incredible. Enjoy.

Friday, May 09, 2008

I had such a great time at Wildflower last weekend part of me is still out there somewhere in Lake San Antonio. You know how it is, you have a great time and you keep thinking about the experience, a memory snippet here and there. However it's time to get it all back together, focus Gaston, focus. Tomorrow is the Quicksilver 50-miler/50-Kilometer trail race. My friend Helen is picking me up at 4AM and she's running her first 50K. I talked her into it so I hope for my sake she has a good time. As for me this will be my last race before heading into my taper for the Kettle Morraine 100. I have been ice bathing my legs every night and kept all my workouts under an hour. I've kept the intensity up but the duration low. I also took two days off, Monday and Wednesday. Ran track on Tuesday and had Spin Thursday night, both went very well. There's definitely some fatigue, minor aches here and there but nothing out of the ordinary. I will be as ready as I'll ever be. The time to beat is 8:31, my time from last years race. Last year I came in feeling pretty good about myself having just raced Wildflower that was until I realized during the race that a good number of the people I was racing against had also run the Miwok 100k the weekend before. This ultra crowd I tell you...

This is my fourth event in 5 weeks and this close to KM100 if anything starts to feel funky or strained I won't hesitate to pull the plug on the race. Not anticipating any problems for this weekend though and I'm excited to be running this event. I'm so psyched I'm wearing my running gear right now. Haha I put it on after I showered, had a late afternoon swim workout. I figured it was a perfect was to keep the body moving but without the pounding, refreshing too. Well its one more thing I don't have to worry about when I wake up at 3am.

Long course athletes relaxing by the fire Saturday night after a good day of racing. Heather, a bit too fast for my camera, Sunday morning. She certainly looks better in the club's racing kit than I do!

Wednesday, May 07, 2008

If you have enough friends on the course you won't need an event photographer. Look at these great shots. Through their lenses, I was also able to see how everyone else did on the long course and how packed race central was while we were out. We were so spread out, because of the wave starts, that I only got to see a few friends on the course. From the pictures it looked like everyone else was having a good time. No one was scowling at the camera, well maybe before and after they passed through the camping grounds.

Starting the bike portion. That's me in the back, in red with the tight lipped smile. Happy to be out of the water and using my legs once again. Photo courtesy of Julia Prescott.

I would say that about 90% of the shots of me running have both my feet off the ground. Not sure why that is, could be my fast turn over. Anyway it always looked kind of weird to me. Rob has managed to do a very rare thing, snap a good picture of me running. He snapped a bunch, must have had one of those nice digital SLRs. I'd love to get one of those one day. This is around mile 7.5 coming through the campgrounds. Photo courtesy of Rob Williams.

Tuesday, May 06, 2008

Wildflower was a huge success! We got in Friday and left Sunday afternoon. I had a grand time camping with friends and racing on Saturday and cheering on Sunday. The weather was close to perfect and I was sad to leave it for the cold of San Francisco. My race was a huge success despite my worries about my overall condition.

RACE MORNINGGot up at 5:20am because someone's car alarm went off. With a smile I burrowed deeper into my sleeping bag, already it was more sleep than I usually get before a race. Rode to the start with a fellow ultra runner, Mr. Gary Wang. We knew some of the same people. He said hello, we made our introductions and we were off to the start. You descend to the lake down a steep winding road. The lake and hills was before us with the last of the morning fog burning off. The transition area is at the bottom of the hill; packed, loud and filled with competitors. If the descent and the view of the lake didn't get your blood pumping, the scene of fellow athletes, spectators and bikes will.

LIKE A DOG AMONG FISHSwam like a dog amongst fishes. A slow swimmer to begin with, I was even slower this time around. I only swam once a week to prepare and only for the last 2 months. I did however do what I do best in the water, relax and enjoy myself. I told myself what I always tell myself in the water "this is the most refreshing you'll feel throughout the entire race, enjoy it!" I came out a bit embarrassed with a 41:00 minute swim time for the 1.2 mile swim loop.

ROCKETING THROUGH OPEN ROADThe bike was nice. The headwind and crosswinds that tortured us last year were mild and the temperatures were quite cool. The heat Wildflower was infamous for was not making an appearance. My goal was to do the bike in 3 hours. Cranked the first 20 miles in 1:05, the second 20 in 55:00 and the last 16 in 1:00. The last 16 went slower because of the only hill on the course. I got my goal and came off that bike grinning ear to ear. Even better, my legs were in excellent shape for the run, quite a difference from last year when I came off the bike tired.

JOYFUL SPRINGY STEPSMy legs felt springy, light and ready to go. I half sprinted through the transition area and bounded up a small flight of stairs to the run course. Bounded! "What the heck are you doing?" I screamed silently to myself. I came to my senses and forced myself to slow down a bit. I didn't want my over exuberance and the cheering crowd to push me to a pace I couldn't maintain. I was moving well. The year before I shuffled out and was hurting for a good 7 miles before I felt better. When we hit the trails I let it all go and it felt good. It got warm halfway through the run but compared to what I experienced at the Mt. Diablo 50-miler, it was a walk in the park. From mile 7 to about 8.5 the run course takes us through the camp grounds and we were greeted by a lot of cheering spectators. It was such a boost. I was going so fast in that section I had to recover on the next mile. I ended up cranking that 13.1 mile run in 1:47, came through the finishing shute at top speed. I ran those last 50 yards like an interval on the track; back straight, breathing under control, chin up, face relaxed and arms pumping forward. At the last moment before crossing the line I heard a friend, Emily, yell my name (she told me later it was her) and then I was in with arms raised triumphantly. I knew without looking at my watch I had pulled off a personal best.

A KINDER FACE TO A MOODY COURSEI finished the race in 5:34:29, quite a big drop from last year's 5:56. However, my PR performance was mostly due to the much better weather conditions. Not having to fight a headwind meant a faster bike split and fresher legs, cooler temperatures on the run allowed me to maintain a faster pace. Sure some of that is improved fitness and experience but not 22 minutes worth. This is a course that has seen temps in the upper 90's to the 100's. I've raced in 100+ weather, the word "sucks" is not enough to communicate the discomfort. There was also that year when it rained and it got really cold. I can't even imagine doing some of those bike descents on wet roads. Last yearwe battled strong headwinds and crosswinds that slowed the entire field and contributed to some of the bike crashes. Last Saturday was almost perfect.

Nutrition Notes:Had a sandwich for breakfast and coffee two hours before the race. Before the swim I took in 20 ounces of my Carbo Pro energy drink, around 200 calories. On the bike I had one bottle of concentrated Carbo Pro, about 4 servings worth. The other water bottle holder was left open for the H20 that I knew I was going to get on the course. At 30 minute intervals I took in Carbo Pro and H20. I made the concentrated bottle of Carbo Pro last the entire ride while I continually switched H20 bottles at aid stations. I took in energy gel and salt tabs every hour. I tucked them on my quads, held down by my biking shorts for easy access on the bike. On the run I switched to only H20 at the aid stations and took 2 gels and consumed 2 salt tabs. I avoided Gatorade since it had caused stomach pain in the past. Post race Gatorade and water was fine plus several oranges. 2 pints of post race beers after re-hydrating was the best tasting. Thank you Jesse for those two beers. I rolled into camp in the mid afternoon slurring a little but a cold shower snapped me back into form.

Friday, May 02, 2008

The rules are:1) Write your own six word memoir2) Post on your blog3) Link to the person who tagged you in your post4) Tag other folks with links.5) Leave a comment on the tagged blogs with an invitation to play.

I don't know about rule #5 but here's my six word memoir.

"As I am, constantly striving forward."

Is that even a sentence? Sounds like a running thing but it's really connected to my faith. This past month I've been struggling through an issue that really got me digging deep. I'm mostly through it now and while emotionally tired I'm still on my two feet headed in the right direction. Something we can all relate to right?

This morning I leave for the Wildflower Triathlons. It's a three day event for our club. We arrive Friday, camp overnight, athletes race the long course (half-ironman distance) on Saturday, catered dinner following the event, camp another night, athletes race the short course on Sunday (olympic distance), then finally we head for home at the conclusion of the short course race. Lots of cheering, hanging out and racing, a very fun and tiring event.

I'm doing the long course myself. I'm a little worried, the Mt. Diablo 50-miler and The Relay event has finally caught up to me. This week I've been unusually tired, my workouts have been sluggish and my right IT band has been giving me trouble, I've got funky aches and pains in other parts of my body too - signs that I've been doing too much. I'm not over trained yet but that's where I'm headed. So I've been taking it easy this week, no workouts over an hour and I've been eating well. We shall see on Saturday. After Wildflower is the Quicksilver 50-miler then I'm done till Kettle Morraine 100. I should be able to hold till then. Maybe it's time to reintroduce the daily ice baths!

Always the same weekend as Wildflower is the Miwok 100k. Good luck to all the racers. My friend Olga is coming in to stay at my place while I'm gone, she's racing it. I'll leave before she gets in come back after she takes off. A shame, two good events on the same weekend.

Been watching Ironman triathlon videos to get me inspired. Love this one, it's so warm in Hawaii they don't need wetsuits but I heard it gets warm. Maybe we can look this good come Saturday. I've no idea what the temperatures are going to be for our race but it can get very, very warm. Thank goodness for the Mt. Diablo race three weeks ago, I feel much more confident about my performance in warm weather. Video courtesy of Ironman Triathlon.